Theory behind blocking out Number Plates in Pics..

[Timbo]

I was reading a members rides thread and someone asked "why do people bother blocking out the number plates in pictures?"

There's 3 good reasons that I can think of;

1. Theft/Vandalism. Believe it or not, there are low-lives on all kinds of forums from pedophiles, stalkers, thieves etc. It's something we don't think about but no doubt that they are out there.

If I was a thief, I could scout out your car with a bit of effort.

*People usually have their location under their user name. Great, you're in my area.
*Those pictures of your car look familiar. I reckon I've seen it around. Beauty.
*The poser pics you did at work/local IGA/recognisable car park, I know the area. Think I might just hang around there in case I see you, then follow you.
*And to top it off, I can marry up the plates from the pics on the forum to the car in real life, just to be doubly sure.

2. Police visit forums for illegal activity. Now I have no experience with this on 4WD forums, only performance car forums, but I can't see why they wouldn't frequent all car forums that matter. Police are cracking down on 4WD'ers a lot now for all kinds of different reasons. That massive turbo you just put on your 4WD, or that V8 you've just plonked in, is that legal? You won't want any unwanted attention really. Sure, your car can be identified by other means, but a lot of cars look the same and 4WD's have a lot of the same mods. License plates are the determining factor.

3. Selling of your vehicle may be affected by your plates. You've posted up all of these pics on forums of your 4WD doing some hardcore tracks, door handle deep in bog-holes, laying over on it's side etc.. Then you're trying to sell it and some people are cluey to what you've done. It can make things difficult for yourself.


I realise these points seem pretty far out and hopefully, the likely-hood of anything like this happening to you is 1,000,000,000 to 1. Just bear them in mind next time you post your pictures up with your plates showing and ask yourself, what if? :icon_driving:

================================================== ==================
This was added by YNOT and deserves to be here;

2 more reasons to block number plates.

1; Insurance companies can look at forums like this and may find what they consider reasonable evidence to reject a claim, even if what they find is actually unrelated to the claim. ie, some insurance companies only cover you on gazetted roads, if they find evidence of you in a 4WD park they may consider that grounds to reject your claim.

2; Warranty. I know from my time with Ford that members of the FPV owners club had driveline warranty claims rejected after Ford had a look on their club website and found photos of the cars on track days. Same could happen with Nissan.

Really good points.

[AB]

Good post mate, That pretty covers the whole reason why.

[Bigrig]

Thanks Timbo ... I am a repeat offender for leaving the plates in piccies soooooo, best I don't do it anymore!!

[wildgu6]

All of the above. Well said buddy.
I was even a bit dubious about putting my exact location on the members map.
Thats why I dindt........lol

Cheers Pete.

[NissanGQ4.2]

People are just 2 paranoid these days

1. Theft/Vandalism" - 99.99% chance it will get stolen from a random low life scum that just happens to be in the area at the time.

2. Police visit forums for illegal activity - If you car is modified and engineered you have nothing to worry about, if not your breaking the law.

3. Selling of your vehicle may be affected by your plates - I'm sure anyone that has half a brain cell could work out without the knowledge of number plates its your 4b

That's just my 2 cents worth

But as you say Timbo 1,000,000,000 to 1 chance - oh sh*t think someone just drove my 4b out the driveway, guess i shouldn't of left the keys on the ignition

Good write up by the way Timbo

[YNOT]

2 more reasons to block number plates.

1; Insurance companies can look at forums like this and may find what they consider reasonable evidence to reject a claim, even if what they find is actually unrelated to the claim. ie, some insurance companies only cover you on gazetted roads, if they find evidence of you in a 4WD park they may consider that grounds to reject your claim.

2; Warranty. I know from my time with Ford that members of the FPV owners club had driveline warranty claims rejected after Ford had a look on their club website and found photos of the cars on track days. Same could happen with Nissan.

Tony

[Finly Owner]

Well I choose to block and only people I choose to meet know my plate No.

Tim

[Woof]

Thanks heaps for this thread Timbo, I have always said to blank out your plates before posting photos but you went a did some research and posted it up here for all to see.
Bloody great job there mate, well donehttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/

[Dark 1]

How do i do it, what do i need on my computer to be able to do this.

[NissanGQ4.2]

How do i do it, what do i need on my computer to be able to do this.

Kelvin,

Microsoft paint that comes with windows does the job, all photo editing programs should do the job as well in MS Paint

Open MS Paint, then open up your photo,

Select the color icon, then single left mouse click on the background color of your number plate.
Select the Pencil Icon, then hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse over your number plate.

2373

[Clunk]

How do i do it, what do i need on my computer to be able to do this.

Hi Tuf, if you've got your photos on photobucket .com you can edit it them on there, if they're just on you puter, you can just open the photo with Paint, or which ever picture editor you have on your pc.

[the evil twin]

Just a further point to consider about theives and blocking out plates. Many vehicles these days are VERY difficult to pinch so the dudes usually break in to your house and pinch the keys. The other market is "extra's".

In WA there is a choice of plates that are geocoded IE the plate has a a 1, 2 or 3 letter prefix that ID's the area or town of Issue. Even the normal Plate runs are issued in batchs of 1,000 to a Registery in almost all States so it is very easy to ID that plate ABD nnn comes from, say Parramatta or Rockhampton.

In the last few years a couple of Gov employee's have been dismissed for illegally accessing Rego Records for criminal activities, most recently supplying names and addy's to a car gang.

There was also an instance here when 3 vehicles were broken into at the owners homes and 1 vehicle was in a shed in the back yard at the time. All 3 were members of a special interest forum within a few suburbs of each other and similiar gear was stolen or attempted. Our local cops had no other reports of 4X break ins that night.

Personally I do not list my Extras, Display my Plate or put up many Pic's of my vehicle just to be on the safe side.

P.S. anyone can obtain your name and addy from the Rego Mob for a small search fee altho I doubt many crims would bother most as has been prev stated probably just troll around.

[taslucas]

Thanks Timbo ... I am a repeat offender for leaving the plates in piccies soooooo, best I don't do it anymore!!

X2 and its taken me 2 years to read this thread!!!!!

[04OFF]

People are just 2 paranoid these days

1. Theft/Vandalism" - 99.99% chance it will get stolen from a random low life scum that just happens to be in the area at the time.

2. Police visit forums for illegal activity - If you car is modified and engineered you have nothing to worry about, if not your breaking the law.

3. Selling of your vehicle may be affected by your plates - I'm sure anyone that has half a brain cell could work out without the knowledge of number plates its your 4b

That's just my 2 cents worth

But as you say Timbo 1,000,000,000 to 1 chance - oh sh*t think someone just drove my 4b out the driveway, guess i shouldn't of left the keys on the ignition

Good write up by the way Timbo


Well also going against the grain, I think i have to agree ^ :redface:





I used to block out number plates on my pics, but in reality, i take and post "way" to many pics to be attempting to edit plates out of "all" pics (not even mentioning video), no one has ever complained, and if they do/did, i will gladly remove any and all pics of their vehicle, however, i will also NOT take/post pic of their car in/at any future forum events etc.


I have attempted to get a contact detail from a rego number (for legit reason), and to get someones address just from a number plate is not that easy (well in QLD anyway), i know people say it is, but try it yourself, sure if you are some form of underworld character, then all you need to know is the right crooked person guess.





If you drive your car anywhere ,somone can always follow you home, if they "really want it", these days they will hiyjack you while youre still in the car anyway, when you are parked the VIN is also visible to anyone (on a QLD rego sticker)


If you have a unroadworthy/illegal vehicle, then you are way more likley to just get pulled up and busted driving around, and your insurance, if your crash is 100% legit, pics may even help with your insurance ,evidence you are telling the truth about what happend, i posted my crash pics before settlement, but i had nothing to hide, and took the pics with the prospect of showing them to my insurance company first hand.





And yes, what about the 500,000 people selling cars, they list pictures, all mods, Rego number, VIN, location, ph number, etc etc, and you can ring em, and they just give you their address, much easier id say.



I also wonder how many people cover number plates, yet post pictures of themselves and personal details on Fail-book and such sites, i think theses days you are more likley to become victim of identity theft, hacked ebay account, credit card/bank detail theft etc etc, and think of all the personal details most people put in the wheelie bin, then go stick it out on the street !


Im not saying everyone should always post their plate, and some times there may be good reason to edit it out, even if its just because you can do it easy, but if your not doing anything remotely wrong/ilegal, and normally dont, i think there is no greater threat of theft (via number plate ID), than any other type of pre existing crime we already face on a day to day basis. :)

[Bigrig]

Well also going against the grain, I think i have to agree ^ :redface:





I used to block out number plates on my pics, but in reality, i take and post "way" to many pics to be attempting to edit plates out of "all" pics (not even mentioning video), no one has ever complained, and if they do/did, i will gladly remove any and all pics of their vehicle, however, i will also NOT take/post pic of their car in/at any future forum events etc.


I have attempted to get a contact detail from a rego number (for legit reason), and to get someones address just from a number plate is not that easy (well in QLD anyway), i know people say it is, but try it yourself, sure if you are some form of underworld character, then all you need to know is the right crooked person guess.





If you drive your car anywhere ,somone can always follow you home, if they "really want it", these days they will hiyjack you while youre still in the car anyway, when you are parked the VIN is also visible to anyone (on a QLD rego sticker)


If you have a unroadworthy/illegal vehicle, then you are way more likley to just get pulled up and busted driving around, and your insurance, if your crash is 100% legit, pics may even help with your insurance ,evidence you are telling the truth about what happend, i posted my crash pics before settlement, but i had nothing to hide, and took the pics with the prospect of showing them to my insurance company first hand.





And yes, what about the 500,000 people selling cars, they list pictures, all mods, Rego number, VIN, location, ph number, etc etc, and you can ring em, and they just give you their address, much easier id say.



I also wonder how many people cover number plates, yet post pictures of themselves and personal details on Fail-book and such sites, i think theses days you are more likley to become victim of identity theft, hacked ebay account, credit card/bank detail theft etc etc, and think of all the personal details most people put in the wheelie bin, then go stick it out on the street !


Im not saying everyone should always post their plate, and some times there may be good reason to edit it out, even if its just because you can do it easy, but if your not doing anything remotely wrong/ilegal, and normally dont, i think there is no greater threat of theft (via number plate ID), than any other type of pre existing crime we already face on a day to day basis. :)

Here here ... I'm a culprit of not blocking mine all the time too, but considering I drive a near on 3 tonne truck with TANK plastered on the windshield and have my suburb in my avatar banner, it would be an easy job for people who know what they're doing (crooks) to find it ...

At the end of this process, all my mods will be engineered with a compliance plate on the truck. So trying to do the right thing at least for the main ones who worry me - the police. Thieves will get what they want no matter what, and as said, it's more likely that it's just your neighbourhoods "time" for drive bys etc as they aren't that dumb and move around to avoid detection. Most of our trucks are somewhat conspicuous and not the fastest of machines, not to mention, not as valuable to the underworld market of stolen vehicles as more exotic machinery, so whilst I never want it to happen, my chances of completely avoiding theft are next to none no matter what precautions I take ...

I do agree however on the insurance side of it - mine covers me for private parks (not comps though) but all mods must be added to your insurance, even at risk of a premium increase - better to have to pay an extra few dollars and still be covered for thousands and thousands of dollars in the event of accident and/or theft.

[cokeholic]

Psssst Dont you people drive ya car on the road past thousands of other cars daily/weekly do you not check out every patrol you pass as ya drive around the country if ya wanted somebodys rego im sure ya would take it down as ya drive around our god blessed country ya think blocking it out on line somehow gives some anomity i think not......Having had My pride and joy HDT group 3 stolen from my locked garage they got through 2 locked doors and one house alarm and 2 car alarms i dont think blanking out plates is gunna help if they want it there gunna find ya

[growler2058]

Psssst Dont you people drive ya car on the road past thousands of other cars daily/weekly do you not check out every patrol you pass as ya drive around the country if ya wanted somebodys rego im sure ya would take it down as ya drive around our god blessed country ya think blocking it out on line somehow gives some anomity i think not......Having had My pride and joy HDT group 3 stolen from my locked garage they got through 2 locked doors and one house alarm and 2 car alarms i dont think blanking out plates is gunna help if they want it there gunna find ya

Its also so w@nkers dont report ya as happened on an aussie jeep forum where someone pi55ed off reported the others jeep and got him defected. Hopefully we dont have
co3Kheads here like that. Also the coppers do spend time looking at forums and may take the opportunity to slap ya with a defect if they read all the mods you have made.

[the evil twin]

snip...
Psssst Dont you people drive ya car on the road past thousands of other cars daily/weekly do you not check out every patrol you pass as ya drive around the country if ya wanted somebodys rego im sure ya would take it down as ya drive around our god blessed country ya think blocking it out on line somehow gives some anomity i think not......

Psssst, yes, they could drive past a thousand Patrols wondering which ones have Airlockers, HID's, Chips, etc etc ... or... they could come on to enthusiasts sites and find a whole bunch in half an hour.

No biggee to me whether people block out plates or not... just saying I have first hand knowledge of two instances where exactly that has happened. Surf the net, get the plate, get the addy's, get the gear. Gaol time for one instance, insufficient proof in another.

It's called risk assessment people... totally your choice and agree the odds are low but it most assuredly does happen only the prevalence is debatable.

As for the Coppers surfing the web looking for defects, well, I dunno about that one. In the case of the Jeep Forum maybe thats how it went down, maybe not but even that is different to Coppers proactively looking for specific vehicles to defect.

[Turtle_au]

The irony is the people who post every detail of their life on facebook or twitter are the first to complain about privacy.

[Bigrig]

Psssst, yes, they could drive past a thousand Patrols wondering which ones have Airlockers, HID's, Chips, etc etc ... or... they could come on to enthusiasts sites and find a whole bunch in half an hour.

No biggee to me whether people block out plates or not... just saying I have first hand knowledge of two instances where exactly that has happened. Surf the net, get the plate, get the addy's, get the gear. Gaol time for one instance, insufficient proof in another.

It's called risk assessment people... totally your choice and agree the odds are low but it most assuredly does happen only the prevalence is debatable.

As for the Coppers surfing the web looking for defects, well, I dunno about that one. In the case of the Jeep Forum maybe thats how it went down, maybe not but even that is different to Coppers proactively looking for specific vehicles to defect.

Good points and good post ET!!

That all said ... it's too late for me now short of going back through a thousand different posts .... BUT, at least for the police side of it, hopefully as of about now (he was there earlier today), I have mod compliance plates for petrol system, lift/suspension and the turbo installation .... One small peace of mind through it all anyway ....

[Oversize]

I have a mod plate in 'Thelma' but most of the mods have been removed. And I plan to place a second battery over the mod plate.
Question: Should I remove it, find out what it applies to, or just cover it up with the battery tray and plead ignorance?

[PatRocRan]

Nice info mate made my minde up very quickly to hold off on few bits of info not to mention the pic I was about to post had my plate clear as day on it Cheers!!

[Darren M]

Thanks for the tips

[04OFF]

OK , we have a couple of thread diggers goin deep on this one, im gussing doin the manual hunt thing, all legit so no probs.




I have a mod plate in 'Thelma' but most of the mods have been removed. And I plan to place a second battery over the mod plate.
Question: Should I remove it, find out what it applies to, or just cover it up with the battery tray and plead ignorance?


To answer this long lost question, it is my understanding, if you have been issued a QLD mod plate (blue plate) the modification in question is effectively now a standard feature of the car, so to remove that modification, you will actually need another modification plate to return it to pre modification form, the modification plate must be in a position that is easy to read so you can't just simply cover them up, and any approved/plated modifications are listed with DOT at the time the plate was issued, so pleading ignorance will not get you very far.


It like this, we all know you can't just modify the legal seating capacity of a vehicle yourself, this needs approval by means of a modification blue plate, but, once the legal seating capacity has been officially changed, its not a case of simply reverting back to the "original" seating capacity, because is actually changing the legal seating capacity again, and so this modification will then need a new modification plate.

[MEGOMONSTER]

OK , To answer this long lost question, it is my understanding, if you have been issued a QLD mod plate (blue plate) the modification in question is effectively now a standard feature of the car, so to remove that modification, you will actually need another modification plate to return it to pre modification form, the modification plate must be in a position that is easy to read so you can't just simply cover them up, and any approved/plated modifications are listed with DOT at the time the plate was issued, so pleading ignorance will not get you very far. It like this, we all know you can't just modify the legal seating capacity of a vehicle yourself, this needs approval by means of a modification blue plate, but, once the legal seating capacity has been officially changed, its not a case of simply reverting back to the "original" seating capacity, because is actually changing the legal seating capacity again, and so this modification will then need a new modification plate. Well that's a little off topic don't you think.

[Truckus]

As an Old sheriff said to me once about the same plates in pics issue with car thieves in Texas....

"Hell'n' tarnation, sure All Ya'All can shoot em for russlin' on ya rig, ol boys youdsta hang horse thieves...but All Ya' All just can't go baitin' and trappin' them....thatz Illlegals right there"

82901

[mudski]

MB can you decipher this please?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MB]

Easy Peasy Mate:

An old Policeman from Texas State USA (not town near Goondiwindi QLD) gave Truckus Mate some questionable advice on the issue of posting pictures of ones vehicle number plates online.
The ageing Policeman still believed it was legal to shoot thieves caught in the act of stealing your vehicle and made mention of how his forefathers used to hang horse thieves.
He also informed Truckus that using pictures on the internet to deliberately bait potential thieves to your property for target practice was illegal but I get the feeling if he was the investigating officer he would surely overlook the entrapment evidence [emoji23][emoji106][emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PeeBee]

Does anyone have a recipe for Tofu salad that does not contain mushrooms or tofu?

[MB]

I see where you’re going here PeeBee Mate, nice encryption there!

Step by step instructions below:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2021/02/139.jpg




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[PeeBee]

I see where you’re going here PeeBee Mate, nice encryption there!

Step by step instructions below:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2021/02/139.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My apprenticeship has commenced ol' master!

[Plasnart]

Easy Peasy Mate:

An old Policeman from Texas State USA (not town near Goondiwindi QLD) gave Truckus Mate some questionable advice on the issue of posting pictures of ones vehicle number plates online.
The ageing Policeman still believed it was legal to shoot thieves caught in the act of stealing your vehicle and made mention of how his forefathers used to hang horse thieves.
He also informed Truckus that using pictures on the internet to deliberately bait potential thieves to your property for target practice was illegal but I get the feeling if he was the investigating officer he would surely overlook the entrapment evidence [emoji23][emoji106][emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Does anyone have a recipe for Tofu salad that does not contain mushrooms or tofu?

My God!! What world have I woken in??

[MudRunnerTD]

Easy Peasy Mate:

An old Policeman from Texas State USA (not town near Goondiwindi QLD) gave Truckus Mate some questionable advice on the issue of posting pictures of ones vehicle number plates online.
The ageing Policeman still believed it was legal to shoot thieves caught in the act of stealing your vehicle and made mention of how his forefathers used to hang horse thieves.
He also informed Truckus that using pictures on the internet to deliberately bait potential thieves to your property for target practice was illegal but I get the feeling if he was the investigating officer he would surely overlook the entrapment evidence [emoji23][emoji106][emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That... Sir... is Brilliant!!! Bhahahahahahaha

[mudski]

Does anyone have a recipe for Tofu salad that does not contain mushrooms or tofu?


I see where you’re going here PeeBee Mate, nice encryption there!

Step by step instructions below:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2021/02/139.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You blokes crack me up!!! :smileyvault-cute-bi

[Plasnart]

Does anyone have a recipe for Tofu salad that does not contain mushrooms or tofu?


My apprenticeship has commenced ol' master!

I still don't get it Phil! I think you've gone straight to 3rd year apprentice under the master. Does MB call you Grasshopper yet? :D

[mudski]

I still don't get it Phil! I think you've gone straight to 3rd year apprentice under the master. Does MB call you Grasshopper yet? :D

Mate when Phil gets his apprenticeship, I'd really love to see a conversation with "Mr.Miyagi" and Phil. We'd be all like, Whaaaaaat!?

[MB]

Crikey Plassy, get off the reefers you dopey hippy, slowing you down Brother [emoji182][emoji3590][emoji106][emoji106]


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[Plasnart]

Crikey Plassy, get off the reefers you dopey hippy, slowing you down Brother [emoji182][emoji3590][emoji106][emoji106]


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Haha been quite some time duuude!

[Truckus]

Well at least it got some laughs and discussion.:driving2:

Good interpretation of Texan talk too!

[Caboosewa]

Paid a lot of cash for it gonna show it off http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2021/02/179.jpg